1. It’s the day every college baseball team fears. The MLB Draft begins tonight at 7, meaning the nation’s top college juniors and high school players will soon have choices to make. The Hurricanes had excellent luck with the draft last year, when pitchers BryanRadziewski and JaviSalas decided to return and high school draft picks ZackCollins and WillieAbreu opted to come to Coral Gables. They were major contributors to a team that had a strong year (albeit a disappointing finish).

This year, there’s a good chance the entire rotation will turn pro. Junior ace ChrisDiaz, redshirt sophomore AndrewSuarez, and seniors Radziewski and Salas are all draft-eligible. Speedy prep outfielder CarlChester might go in the first three rounds. Check my MLB Draft preview story here.

Virtual Duke Johnson runs for a touchdown in a simulated game against FAU. (YouTube.com/Forgeron902)

2. The NCAA reacted to the EA sports settlement Wednesday evening in an email from its communications office to reporters.

Last weekend, a $40 million agreement was reached that will pay college football and basketball players from 2003-onward for the use of their likenesses in NCAA-branded videogames like the NCAA Football series and NCAA March Madness, which have since been discontinued amid the legal dispute.

It means checks are due to former college football and basketball players, though it is uncertain who will receive them and when. The NCAA’s reaction:

“First, under no circumstances will we allow the proposed agreement between EA and plaintiff’s lawyers to negatively impact the eligibility of any student-athlete…not one will miss a practice or a game if this settlement is approved by the court,” the email said. “This proposed settlement does not equate to payment of current student-athletes for their athletic performance, regardless of how it is being publicly characterized.”

“Second, the real benefactors of this settlement are the lawyers, who could pocket more than $15 million.”

Lastly, the email said:

“We have not yet determined whether to formally object to any of the settlement terms.”

3. Football recruiting is always fluid. That in mind: Four-star running back Dexter Williams, the highest-ranked verbal commitment on UM’s board, said on his Twitter pagehe’ll take a lot of visits this summer, among them Georgia Tech, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Tennessee, South Carolina and Clemson. Williams, who knocked out of his team’s spring game with an ankle injury, committed to Miami at its spring game, April 12.

Williams said his pledge to UM is “80” percent solid, according to 247Sports.com. Tennessee and Southern Cal are the other contenders.

There’s some great news for UM, though: four-star Tampa-Freedom defensive end Scott Patchan, a Hurricane legacy who also committed at the spring game, told 247Sportshe wants to be “as much of a leader as possible by recruiting for my class.” Patchan (6-5, 240) said he tells fellow recruits how “excited I am about my choice and how they can’t go wrong with Miami.”

The next signing day is Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. Here’s a look at the Canes football recruiting database:

4. No more signing day? That’s the thought of Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, who believeshigh school players should be able to sign with a college as soon as a scholarship offer is extended. Pelini said that would clean up some of the recruiting scene, which currently sees college coaches extend players offers they have no intention of honoring, and players committing and de-committing (and in one memorable case, committing, getting a tattoo of that school’s logo and then de-committing).

Pelini said he also believes recruits should be allowed to be released from their letters of intent if their school’s coach leaves.

5. There is also a basketball game tonight, in case you haven’t heard. Will James Jones get off the bench? The former Cane (Class of 2003) played a total of five minutes, 13 seconds in the Eastern Conference Finals, but if the Heat are lacking three-point shooting all of a sudden, Jones can provide that.

Of the 10 ex-Canes who have played in the NBA, Jones has had the third-longest career, behind Hall of Famer Rick Barry and veteran swingman John Salmons, who finished up last season with Toronto. Because there’s always a 561 connection: did you know he once blocked 16 shots in a game against Palm Beach Lakes?

On the eve of another baseball postseason, the Hurricanes received some regular-season honors.

Catcher Zack Collins was named ACC freshman of the rear and left-hander Chris Diaz co-pitcher of the year. They were two of seven Canes honored by the conference.

Chris Diaz was named ACC co-pitcher of the year. (Miami Herald)

Collins shook off his 1-for-27 start to finish at .285/.404/.520, with eight homers, 46 RBI and three triples. He was second in homers (tied) and slugging percentage and fourth in RBI.

Diaz, who shared co-pitcher honors with Virginia’s Nathan Kirby, was UM’s only first-team representative. The junior went a league-best 9-0 with a 2.32 ERA, striking out 78 batters and walking 33 in 89.1 innings.

Carey, who batted .192 in last year’s draft-eligible junior year, raised that to .295/.391/.452 as a senior. He led UM with 98 total bases, hit six homers and knocked in 27 runs, and stole 14 bases in 22 attempts. He was the only regular not to commit an error and made plays like thisgame-saving diving catch against Virginia.

Radziewski (7-2, 3.14, 96 strikeouts, 43 walks in 86 innings) finished third in the ACC in strikeouts, with a league-high 33 struck out looking. Other measures of his toughness to hit: he tied for the league lead in sacrifice bunts allowed (11) and was fourth in strikeouts per game (10.05). He also tied for the lead in pickoffs (7).

Garcia (5-3, 1.61) was second in saves (15) and finished a league-best 27 games.

UM’s seven all-ACC selections tied Clemson for the most in the conference.

Brian O’Connor (Virginia) won coach of the year. Player of the year went to Florida State’s D.J. Stewart. North Carolina State shortstop Trea Turner, a Park Vista High alum, was a first-team selection.

BA also ranked No. 4 Florida State (41-14, 21-9 ACC) and No. 7 Florida (37-19, 21-9 SEC). The NCAA’s RPI ranks the Gators at No. 2 and the Seminoles at No. 3, while UM is 12th.

Football: UM center ShaneMcDermott was named to the Rimington Trophy watch list. McDermott, a senior from Palm Beach Central High, was one of 64 Division I players named. The award is presented to the top center in college football.

McDermott, who missed spring football after undergoing foot surgery, was also on the watch list before last season. He was a third-team All-ACC selection in 2013, when he started 11 games, missing two due to injury.

Miami’s baseball team (and mascot) are all smiles after wrapping up the ACC title Saturday. (Photo by Joel Auerbach)

CORAL GABLES – Plenty of happy hugs were exchanged and “ACC Regular Season Champions” T-shirts were handed out, but there was no overjoyed dog pile Saturday when the Hurricanes beat North Carolina.

This was what was expected of them. More is expected yet of Miami, which finished its most successful regular season in six years.

The Canes (40-15, 24-6 in the ACC) capped their first 40-win regular season since 2008, when they last advanced to the College World Series. Their 24 conference wins match Clemson (2006) and Florida State (’08, ’12) for the most in ACC history.

Next up is the ACC tournament, which begins Tuesday in Greensboro, N.C. When the NCAA tournament field is announced next Sunday, the Canes have a strong case to be named of the top eight teams as a national seed, which would bring an NCAA Super Regional to Coral Gables for the first time since 2008.

CORAL GABLES — Since they were little kids, WillieAbreu and ZackCollins had their springtime weekends mapped out.

“What are we doing this weekend? Going to the Canes game,” Abreu said. “We’ve been doing this our whole lives.”

Thanks to a friend’s dad who had tickets, they used to attend 10 to 15 Hurricanes games a season. They would sit in the third-base side and rag on opposing players, grab milkshakes from the concession, high-five the Miami Maniac and run the basepaths after the final out.

Of course, they dreamed of becoming Hurricanes themselves. With that now a reality, they’re chasing another dream.

UM hasn’t been to the College World Series since 2008, but this year’s team believes it can get there. Why? A pitching rotation that could be one of the nation’s best and a much-needed infusion of offense, sparked by two kids who grew up wanting to hit homers in Coral Gables.